ALABAMA Steve M. Brown
King Kong once dominated the landscape. Now there is no Kong.
In the past, we have had extended periods in which one variety occupied large portions of the Cotton Belt. Similarly, smaller regions have been overwhelmingly committed to...
As we think ahead to the upcoming year, variety selection is on everyone’s mind. I’m sure folks have heard this statement several times, but cotton variety selection is the most important decision we will make all year. In many...
The U. S. Department of Agriculture estimates for the 2021 Alabama cotton crop have remained slightly above 900 pounds per acre since the initial August report. Maybe they are close, but I don’t know HOW they make their guesses....
I hand-picked cotton yesterday, just one plot in the oldest cotton fertility experiment in the world. One of 14 plots, my assigned two rows by 10 feet were good, and it took 25 minutes to pick everything from fluffy...
As of Sept. 20, little if any cotton was defoliated in Alabama. Most of the state was soaked with heavy rains Sept. 10-20, which hurt open cotton and helped late fields finish. The August and September U.S. Department of...
I once had a girl friend named “Earlene” (not her real name). Earlene was attending a pre-wedding function in Birmingham on a Saturday and had to travel through Decatur where I was working. With my boss’ permission, I invited...
August is a key month to finish off the cotton crop. Most of the crop management (fertilization, herbicides) is through, and it is important to protect the fruit from stinkbugs and plant bugs. We had a wet July, which...
This is supposed to be about midseason management.
I listen to my esteemed colleague from Arizona Dr. Randy Norton talk about growing cotton in the desert. I am amazed at what they know and how they go about producing the...
We are having a normal planting season as many areas are too dry and others have wet places in the fields that farmers have to plant around. Non-irrigated growers often plant cotton before peanuts until it gets too dry...
San Joaquin Valley growers are again in the unfortunate position of having to deal with the after-effects of below-normal rainfall and a reduced snowpack. We already know of many planned reductions in irrigation district water allocations that may impact...
As of mid-March, the earliest planted cotton in the Lower Rio Grande Valley has been out of the ground for a couple of weeks. Planting in the Coastal Bend region has been wide open the past few weeks, and...
As of mid-February, many of the cotton producing regions of Texas have not seen adequate relief from dry conditions. They persist in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Coastal Bend and parts of the Blacklands.
Hopefully, some relief is headed to...
I hope 2021 started out right for you. Here in the Texas High Plains, we have finally been blessed with some moisture, even if in the form of snow. The first half of January brought anywhere from 4 to...
We met in a conference center lobby at Jekyll Island. I didn’t know him or what he did. It was his first day on the job. I was there to recap the season for growers at a Farm Bureau...
There was promise for a great cotton crop in Florida this year until late in the season after the weather had been good for the rest of the growing season.
As cotton began opening, several tropical storms and hurricanes delayed...
